Monday, October 30, 2017
Hanna Bunton Makes History
Hanna makes history in CWHL
Hanna Bunton (Hockey Canada photo)
Belleville's Hanna Bunton has earned a place in the Canadian Women's Hockey League recordbook.
Bunton scored the historic first goal — the game-winner — for the Vanke Rays in their inaugural contest in the CWHL last weekend, a 3-0 win over the Toronto Furies at the MasterCard Centre in Toronto.
Bunton added an assist and was named First Star.
Bunton also had a goal for Vanke in the weekend rematch, a 3-2 Toronto victory.
The St. Theresa graduate and former Ivy League standout at Cornell University is one of a handful of Canadian and American players on the rosters of two CWHL expansion teams from China — Vanke and the Kunlun Red Star.
Other teams in the CWHL are Montreal Canadiennes, Calgary Inferno, Markham Thunder and Boston Blades. Teams play a 30-game regular season and Montreal leads the current standings with a 4-and-0 record, followed by Calgary (3-1).
The unique expansion to China by the professional CWHL was announced in June, with the two new entries playing five groups of road games in North America during the 2017-18 season. Each North American-based team will make one road trip to China.
The expansion is intended to help increase the development of the Chinese women's hockey program in preparation for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.
From The Intelligencer
Sunday, October 29, 2017
The World Series-2017
The
World Series-2017
They are
putting the finishing touches on the baseball fields in Houston and
Los Angeles for this year's World Series. It is certainly one of the
great traditions of the North American culture. I would write
“American Culture”, but that all changed in 1993, as you well
remember.
Apparently,
it will be a hot time to begin with in Los Angeles. Over the last
couple of days, it has been more than one hundred degrees in
Tinseltown, and that weather is expected to remain for some time. For
the record, the warmest World Series took place in Arizona in 2001.
The Dodgers
send Clayton Kershaw to the mound to face Dallas Keuchel. Both are
outstanding hurlers, with great stuff, and represent two of the best
pitching staffs in baseball. The Dodgers have an edge in the bullpen.
Their relievers have an earned run average of 0.94, whereas the
Astros bullpen's ERA is 5.03. Naturally, the Dodgers look forward to
seeing that bullpen door wide open on the Houston side.
Both of
these teams have been unbeatable in the post-season at home. The
Astros won more games on the road than did any other team. The
Dodgers won more games than any other team. So this thing may come
down to one final game, for all the marbles. That game would be
played in L. A.
Prior to
1969, the pennant winners from the leagues played off for the title.
There were no divisional races, no wild cards, no championship
playoffs within leagues. All that has changed, and will likely change
again, as the powers-that-be tinker with the product.
The Yankees
have won more Series titles than any other team-27. Next in line are
the Cardinals with 11. The Athletics have won 9, the Red Sox and the
Giants 8 each. Combined, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the L. A. Dodgers
have won six titles. The Astros have yet to climb the podium.
The Astros
are a pesky bunch: they run well, field brilliantly, hit for power
and average. The addition of Justin Verlander to the starting lineup
was a great coup.
The Dodgers
have very few holes in their lineup. Look for consistent hitting from
Yasiel Puig, Andre Ethier, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Curtis
Granderson, Cody Bellinger, and Chris Taylor.
It is a
great accomplishment just to get to the World Series. It is even more
fun when you get to wear the goggles and spray your teammates with
champagne after the last out. To the victors go the spoils.
James Hurst
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Malcolm Subban
Malcolm
Subban- The Middle One
There are
many sports fans in the Quinte area who keep a close watch on former
Belleville Bulls. For only one game in the 2009-2010 season, and for
only thirteen minutes, we had a look at Malcolm Subban.
The
following year, and for three years after that, Malcolm Subban was a
regular in the Belleville goal. Mind you, we had previously seen his
brother on many occasions. He now plays for the Nashville Predators,
following a stint with the Montreal Canadiens. He calls himself “PK”.
And then we
got to host their younger brother, Jordan, in Belleville. Shortly
thereafter, the plug was pulled on the Belleville Bulls, and they
were relocated to Hamilton. Starting in November, there will be
another brand of exciting hockey at the Quinte Sports and Wellness
Centre, with the arrival of the Senators. But that is another story,
for a future column.
A couple of
weeks ago, Malcolm received a piece of good news. He had been picked
up on waivers by the Vegas Golden Knights. Mind you, they had an
excellent goaltender because they had selected the Penguins'
Marc-Andre Fleury, who had been unprotected when the Golden Knights
selected team members. Last Friday night, Fleury received a
concussion in a game against the Red Wings.
Subban got
the call to start on Sunday. He was directed to start against the
team that had originally drafted him, the Boston Bruins. Subban had
been with the Bruins organization for four seasons, but had only
played in two games for the Bruins. He had played 127 games for the
Providence Bruins. You might almost think he might have had something
to prove to the Bruins' management.
On Sunday
night, the Golden Knights defeated the Bruins 3-1. The Bruins' lone
marker was scored with just 30 seconds left in the third period, a
lucky goal that went in off the Vegas defender. The Knights had an
empty net goal at the end of the game. The Knights have an excellent
record for a new team in the league. Goaltending has played an
important part.
Naturally,
Subban was thrilled after his first NHL victory. He emphasized the
importance of focus in NHL games. But he also played really well,
cutting down angles, sneaking up to the edge of the crease for shots
from the blueline. He did not leave any sloppy rebounds for easy
goals. He earned the first star for the game.
He also
commented, “I am truly grateful for the opportunity to play here.”
Having chatted with Malcolm a few times when he was with the Bulls,
that is very typical. He is a modest, unassuming, relatively quiet
person. Somewhat different from his brother!
I am certain
that Malcolm would cherish the opportunity to stay with the parent
club. That remains to be seen. In the meantime, with a few games like
last Sunday's game, he will remain anNHLer.
James Hurst
Sunday, October 15, 2017
October-A Great Time for Sports Fans!!
Toronto
Blue
Jay fans are now recovering after a disappointing season.
Lockers
have been cleaned, meetings held, and next year's starting
lineup
will be a mystery for some time to come.
And
now, the
same applies to the Boston Red Sox. They lost their game
yesterday
against the Houston Astros. That ended the Divisional Series
with the
Astros winning three games to one. Dustin Pedroia grounded
out to
Jose Altuve for the final out to seal the deal.
Both
teams
relied on the ace starting pitchers to get the job done. The
Red Sox
called Chris Sele in from the bullpen, and the Astros gave
the nod to
Justin Verlander as the game wore on. Both pitched
effectively, but
Sale got touched up for a home run by Bregman to ruin his
day.
David Price, Pre Season.
It
was the
first post-season series win for the Astros since 2005, and
they now
proceed to the American league Championship Series, which
starts this
Friday. They will face the Yankees, or the Cleveland
Indians.
Altuve
continues to show that he is a cut above. Standing at 5
feet, 6
inches, he is dwarfted by most Major League Baseball
players. Over
the last few seasons, he has shown that he is one of the
best second
baseman in the game today, and he continues to pave his way
to
Cooperstown. In the past four seasons, he has had more than
200 hits,
a milestone. He is now a perennial all star. He has won Gold
Gloves,
and has been a Silver Slugger. He has won several batting
titles in
the last few years, while also leading the league in stolen
bases.
Signed
as a
free agent by the Astros in 2007, when he was 17, he made
his debut
in 2011. The Venezuelan native brings a magic to the game
that is
worth the price of admission.
The
Yankees
dropped their first two games against the Cleveland Indians,
but
caught a break in their first game. Edwin Encarnacion has
been unable
to play due to a sore ankle. The Tribe misses his bat in the
lineup.
They win be back at it on Wednesday night, with Sabathia on
the mound
for the Yankees, and Kluber for the Indians. Winner moves
on, loser
goes home.
All
of this
leads to the World Series which will start in a week or so.
There is
always talk that there is a lack of interest in baseball
today. I
investigated the purchase of a ticket for one of the games
at Yankee
Stadium. Almost $ 200 in American funds, (plus transaction
fees, of
course) to sit in the grandstand, so far away that even
Aaron Judge
could not hit one to me.
I
read this
morning that former NFL great Y. A. Tittle passed away. He
was a
popular name when we played sandlot football on the campus
at
Belleville Collegiate in the early sixties. He was a great
quarterback, especially for the New York Giants.
And
yes,
Leaf fans have unfurled their flags, with good reason. They
have a
strong young team, a fine coach, and should do well this
year. A step
at a time.
James
Hurst
October
10,
2017.
-- James Hurst 613.399.2278 sportslices.blogspot.com
Thanks, Jose
By the time
that this newspaper gets into your hands, the Toronto Blue Jays are
expected to jettison Jose Bautista from their roster. It is all a
matter of dollars and cents, There is also a little bit of...”Well,
what have you done for us lately?” thrown into the equation.
Admittedly,
Bautista has not had a great season for the Jays. There are always
many factors that contribute to a lack of success for any athlete.
Jose is getting a little long in the tooth, now 37 years old. But he
is in remarkable physical condition, and he has worked extremely hard
the past several years to keep himself in the game. He is forever
bending and stretching, curling and twitching, in order to maintain
his physical status. Too often do we see older players pulling up
lame on routine ground balls.
He works
very hard. Most of the discussions from the pundits from Toronto
indicate that he does not shy away from game preparation. In that
regard, I am reminded of Jaromir Jagr. Jagr spent many hours before
games with incredible physical workouts. Old guys like he and Jose
know that there are plenty of young bucks on the sidelines ready to
take their place.
They know
that the younger players are often bigger, stronger, faster, and
likely more fit. It just drives the older guys to work that much
harder. But with all athletes, in all games, there comes a point of
diminishing returns. Quite often there are teams which need these
older athletes, for a variety of reasons.
One of the
reasons I hear is that “They are good in the clubhouse”. That is
now always the case. There are older players who have always been
jerks their entire careers, and they likely won't change. There are
others who have difficulty communicating, either because of their
nature, or because they do not have a strong command of one of
baseball's languages. That could be English, Spanish, Korean,
Japanese, or a few others.
Several
years ago, baseball opened up the doors for older athletes with
strong batting skills. The American League adopted the “Designated
Hitter”. Teams could hire these big boppers to stride to the plate,
whack the cover off the ball, and then return to the dugout. They do
not have to catch flies, field grounders, nor run into fences chasing
foul balls. They are paid to hit, especially with power. No such role
exists for hockey players. Consequently, no one has picked up Jagr,
at this point in time. He still remains as one of the top five
players of all time, truly phenomenal.
I was most
impressed with the way the Toronto fans expressed their feelings
toward Bautista during his final series against the Yankees. He
played hard the entire series, batting well, chasing balls in the
outfield. He still has the skills.
But the
powers that be have indicated that they do not wish to bring him back
next year. It would be an expensive venture for the team. I believe I
heard the approximate number of $17 000 000. If he gets picked up by
another team, he may be able to make between 2 and 5 million dollars,
That is just a wild guess.
I am sure
the team consulted with him before the season, and asked him about
doing something similar to Big Papi's sunset tour last year. I can
see Bautista indicating he would have no part of that. Even in his
last on=field interview in Toronto, he hinted that he would like to
be playing, possibly in Toronto.
He expressed
his feeling that he loved the city. All players do that when they are
being shuttled out the door. Jose sounded more genuine than many of
the others. He has always been a class act, a great player, and
should be remembered as one of the top Blue Jay players in the short
history of the team.
Mucha
suerte, Jose.
James Hurst
October 2,
2017
